Two-thirds of Americans see recession in the works

Nearly half the survey respondents, 46 percent, believed a recession was already under way.

The conviction comes despite a 3.4 percent rebound in economic growth during the second quarter, according to Commerce Department data released last week.

A recession is generally defined as two consecutive quarters of declines in gross domestic product.

Turning points in the economy are notoriously difficult to predict. In 2001, many Wall Street and government forecasters waited until growth had already turned negative before acknowledging a period of contraction.